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Will my nipples toughen up?

marleysmommarleysmom member
in Breastfeeding
I had a really rough first week of BF that include very badly bleeding/scabbed nipples. We got hooked up with a nipple shield, which was a godsend, and my nipples essentially healed. While I love that the shield has allowed me to continue to BF with minimal pain, I hate having to use it. I was actually resigned to possibly using it until I stopped BF, but lately things had been going well so I decided to try feeding a few times w/o the shield - tried this maybe 8 times in the last 4-5 days. Sometimes it was great and I was really excited that we might be done with the shild all together, but other times - esp. later on in a feeding - I'd start to have a lot of pain. So now my nipples are back to hurting/burning even when my daughter feeds with the shield and I'm bummed. I was hoping my nipples had toughened up enough to go sans shield, but apparently not. Is it possible that they may never toughen up enough for us to go shield-free?

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Re: Will my nipples toughen up?

  • mjclevemjcleve member

    Make sure that you have the right size shield - medela has different sizes.  If you have the wrong size, it could cause pain.

    We used the shield until 12 weeks.  Yes, they will toughen up - more than you would hope.  Smile

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  • appleciderapplecider member

    I had the exact same problem.  (You've seen a Lac Consultant to learn how to latch without doing damage?).  And yep, they will toughen up.  Also, your LO will get more efficient at feeding so you'll nurse fewer times a day for less time...  It gets WAY better, it just takes time so hang in there.  I'm so glad I kept going because now it's awesome.  My nipples are healed.  My baby smiles at me when I come home from work.  And it's really convenient to not have to carry formula around.

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  • kmmancilkmmancil
    for me it wasn't so much "toughening up" it was working with DH to make sure his latch was right.  Baby's get lazy sometimes and the way they latch can be very painful if for instance they're biting down on nipple or trying to suck only on nipple instead of the areola.
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  • MxbabygalMxbabygal
    They will. My nipples got really bad too. I actully was pumping one boob b/c they got so sore and i was misrable. Try the Laniosh(sp) Breast cream, it has Lanolin in it, that stuff worked wonders. My nipples were bleeding and scabbed real bad and within three or four days later they were almost normal. But pumping helped alot since it gave the sore boob a break!! It will get better soon.?
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  • MxbabygalMxbabygal
    It gets better, My little man is 5wks and i can finally say i don't dread putting him onto my breast anymore. Try the Lanolin and even try pumping to give your nipples a break!
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  • socalduosocalduo
    I used a nipple shield for the first 4 weeks with my DD.  For me my nipples were sore for the next 2 months.  Other moms in my mommies group said it took anywhere from a month to 2 months for their nipples to toughen up.
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